Don't Look Back
by SoftFeather
Summary: When she lost everything that she ever loved, his silent presence gave her the strength that she needed to carry on. He made her realise that even when you have lost so much, life is still worth so much more than you could ever imagine. OC/Daryl
1. Chapter 1

My peaceful slumbers were disrupted by the sound of a high-pitched scream outside my house. I sat up in bed and stared wide-eyed out of my bedroom window as I tried to find out what was happening and who let out that terrified scream. I heard my parent's footsteps outside my bedroom and I slowly crawled out of my bed.

"Mum? Dad? What's going on?" I asked with a worried tone evident in my voice as I watched my parent's pack their bags in a hurry. My mother turned around and gently pushed me in the direction of my bedroom.

"No time to explain. Please, honey. Pack your bags, we're leaving. I need to wake your brother up." My mother told me with wide, scared eyes and I nodded, confused. I hurriedly packed away enough clothes for a week and met my parents and brother at the front door. Chris, my 10-year-old brother, rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he gently held my hand in his.

"Kat? What's going on?" He asked me in a tired voice and I gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"Nothing to worry about, baby." I replied, lovingly. I adore my little brother and I would die a hundred times over just to keep him alive.

"Don't leave our side, okay?" My mother told us and we nodded still slightly worried at our parent's strange behaviour.

As soon as the front door opened, I was taken aback by the destruction that had occurred ever since I first looked out my bedroom window. At first the night was calm and quiet, but now... I watched as a mob fled from something in the distance. I saw about ten or fifteen silhouettes against the fires of burning, overturned vehicles. I couldn't see their faces, but I could hear them moaning. They were slouching steadily towards us with their arms raised. I could hear people screaming and shouting. Dozens of people, most of them in their night-clothes, all shouting 'Run! Get out of here! They're coming!" The younger faces were asking who was coming, but the older ones just started running. They had a different kind of survival instinct, an instinct born in a time when they were slaves in their own country. In those days, everyone knew who "they" were, and if "they" were coming, all you could do was run and pray. My mother's frantic shouts brought me back to reality.

"Hurry!" My mother shouted and I finally started to run towards the car, but as soon as I reached our vehicle, someone grabbed me from behind and roughly pulled my shirt. I let out a terrified scream as I spun around and came face to face with my attacker. A large man who was undoubtedly heavier than me by a few kilos and covered in blood stared down at me. I noticed a knife protrude from his chest, jammed between the ribs and buried to the hilt. The smell of the blood made me nauseous and weak at the knees. He growled like a wild animal and then lunged for me again. I tried to dodge, but he managed to grab my wrist. Pain shot up through my body at the tight grip and I cried out in pain and fear.

"Get away from her!" I heard my father's angry voice and the next thing I knew, the man was on the floor growling at us. My father roughly pushed me into the car and I stared wide-eyed out of the car window as the bloody man started to stand again.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked in fright as the man slammed his hand forcefully onto my window. I flinched at the loud BANG that jolted the car. My father pulled out of our driveway and then drove away from our house as fast as our car would allow him.

"I don't know, honey. Everything is going to be okay as long as we stick together through this, alright?" My father replied as he sent a stern look through the rear view mirror towards me and Chris.

"Alright." I replied as I stared at the wreckage that was my home-town. I slowly turned away from the devastation and felt a pang in my chest as I noticed my little brother had silent tears streaming down his face like a waterfall. I grasped his hand and he slowly turned his attention to me.

"I'm not going to leave you. No matter what happens, I will always be with you." I told my brother with a small, reassuring smile on my face and he gave me a watery smile in return. Chris then gave my hand a gentle squeeze, before he turned his attention back onto the wreckage we used to call home.


	2. Chapter 2

I ran through the dark and gloomy woods as the tears streamed down my face like a waterfall. A group of masked men were chasing me through the woods and I didn't have time to question why they chose me and my father as targets. All I could do was either run or die.

"Don't run, little lady. We're not gonna hurt ya." I heard a cackle and I let out a miserable sob. The excited shouts of the men that were pursuing me started to fade away so I turned around to see how far away they actually were. They weren't in my line of sight, but I carried on running because I knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. I desperately wanted to go back to my mother and Chris on the highway, but I knew what would happen if I led the group of men to them, so I continued to run. I looked around frantically for a safe place to hide and hope that they passed by. I saw a bright light up ahead like a flashlight, shining between the cracks of the trees. I ran as hard as I could and tried to call to them for help, but I was out of breath. I crashed through the trees and was suddenly in a clearing. The headlights were blinding and I felt something slam against my skull. I think that I was out before I even hit the ground.

* * *

><p><em>"We should camp here for the night." My father told us and we all nodded as we got out of the car and stretched our aching bones. Chris was by my side as soon as I left the car and I gave him a small smile as I wrapped my arm around him.<em>

_"Are you cold?" I asked him and he shook his head. I gave him a look that said I knew he was lying and I took my coat off and wrapped it around his shoulders. He started to protest, but I held a finger up to silence him._

_"I'm fine, Chris." I told him as I kissed his forehead. I looked over to my parents and I saw them huddled together against the bitter cold of the night._

_The sound of a gunshot and screaming made me spin around and stare at the dark and gloomy woods. I could hear moaning and I tensed up at how close it was. I sent a fearful look towards my parents and noticed that they were moving towards us._

_"Get in the car." My father ordered us and we obeyed without hesitation. Through the car window, I watched my father grab a kitchen knife and head into the woods. I wanted to scream at him for being so stupid, but he was already gone. All I could do now was pray for his safe return._

_A couple of minutes of deafening silence passed and the only noise that I could hear was the frantic beating of my heart. Suddenly, a familiar scream tore through the air which made my blood turn cold._

_"Dad!" I screamed and pushed myself out of the car. I got to my feet and ran into the woods. I wasn't thinking. I was stupid. I should have found a weapon or even better, never ran off. I could hear my mother's desperate shouts, but the blood pounding in my ears drowned out her words. I frantically searched for my father, but the woods were deathly silent. I tripped over something in the darkness and smashed my head into the ground. My vision became blurry and I groaned in pain as I got to my feet again. My head swam and my body ached, but I continued to search for my missing father._

_As I started to run again, something caught my eye and instinctively, I backed away. A group of men were surrounding the lifeless body of my father. I stared with wide eyes at the horrifying scene that was in front of me as I tried to hold in the sob that was threatening to tear me apart. I brought my hand up which helped me muffle the sob that escaped from my mouth, but it wasn't enough. The man closest to me turned around and locked eyes with me which made me gasp in fright. I turned around and ran as fast as I could away from the shouting men..._

* * *

><p>Strange voices ripped me out of the nightmare that I was reliving and I frantically sat up to look for a weapon which I could use to defend myself.<p>

"Hey! Hey! It's okay!" An elderly man told me with his hands raised in surrender and I stared at him with wide, scared eyes. I looked around at my surroundings and noticed I was in an RV on a comfortable bed, but something was wrong. My family was nowhere to be seen.

The memories of what happened before I was knocked out hit me full force like a tidal wave and I gasped. Tears threatened to escape from my eyes and I looked at the man again. He was watching me with a mixture of worry and sadness.

"My family. I need to go back for them." I told him as I sat up and swung my legs off of the bed. The old man nodded and gave me a reassuring smile like I had done to Chris. The face of my little brother swam in my mind and my throat started to constrict.

"I understand, but you should really stay in bed and rest because you had quite a hit to the head. I apologise on behalf of Daryl, our hunter, but he was just protecting the group. I will send a search team out for your family if you would like." The old man explained and I shook my head.

"I want to go. They're my family." I stubbornly replied as I walked out of the RV. The old man followed me outside and he shouted for a man named Shane.

A man with black hair in his early 30's walked up to us with a friendly smile and he held out his hand for me to shake.

"Hello, miss. My name is Sheriff Deputy Shane Walsh." He said with a hint of authority in his voice as I politely shook his hand.

"My names Katherine." I reply as I gave him a small smile, "I want to go back for my parents." Shane nodded at my reply then he looked around at the group members who kept staring at the new arrival to the group.

"I'll quickly arrange a search team for you then, Katherine." Shane informed me then he shouted for everyone's attention. A small circle of people crowded around Shane to hear what he had to say and I noticed two rednecks standing at their pickup truck that had a bike standing in the back. The men turned their attention to Shane, but didn't join the circle of their group.

"Sorry to disturb everyone, but our new arrival who is called Katherine," I gave everyone a friendly smile as they turned their attention to me for a couple of seconds and I received some welcoming smiles. "would like to go back into the woods to find her family. Would anybody be kind enough to volunteer for her?" Shane continued.

A Korean man, a blonde woman and, most surprisingly of all, the two rednecks volunteered to help me search for my family. I gave them all grateful smiles as they walked off to get what they needed. Shane walked up to me and handed me a knife.

"Just in case." He told me as I weakly held the knife in my hand. The thought of killing one of those things made me nauseous, but I quickly tucked the knife into the waistband of my jeans.

The two rednecks were the next to approach me and introduce themselves. First, a grey haired man in his late 40's stepped forward. Everything about him screamed stereotypical redneck, but I won't judge people unless I know how bad they really are.

"Hello there, lil' lady. My names Merle." His gruff voice said and I gave him a friendly smile.

"Katherine." I replied, before I turned my attention onto the younger brother. "And you are?"

"Daryl." The man replied and a memory passed through my mind.

_"You had quite a hit to the head. I apologise on behalf of Daryl, our hunter, but he was just protecting the group."_

"Hey, your the guy that knocked me out when I first arrived here." I replied more amused than angry. Daryl gave me an small, apologetic smile. He was just about to respond when a familiar shout caught our attention.

"Come on, let's head out." Shane called and we all followed him into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

With Daryl's excellent tracking skills, we reached the area where I found my father's lifeless body in under 10 minutes. I stared down at what was left of my father's body. Those things had already started to devour his flesh as if he was an all you can eat buffet.

"Looks like the walkers got here first." Shane said quietly and I placed my hand in front of my mouth to stop the sob that I could feel rising in my chest. Silent tears streamed down my face and I felt someone place a comforting hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see the Korean man standing there with a sympathetic expression on his face. I turned away from the gruesome sight and then turned my attention on to Daryl.

"We should keep moving." I told him unemotionally and he nodded silently, before he continued to lead the way. The images of my father's mutilated body haunted me for the trip back to the highway where I left my brother and mother. I could feel someone watching me and I looked up to find Daryl looking at me from over his shoulder. As soon as our eyes met, he gave me a reassuring smile then dropped his gaze back onto my footsteps that I created last night when I was frantically searching for my father.

"Katherine, right?" The Korean man asked me and I nodded with a small smile, "I'm Glenn. How old are you?" Glenn asked me, probably to get my mind off of my father's death.

"Nice to meet ya, Glenn. I'm 23. Why do you ask?" I questioned him and a slight blush appeared on his face. I smirked at his behaviour and let out a small giggle. Glenn huffed playfully and I smiled at him. I noticed the highway up ahead and I started to slow down, terrified of what I may find. Glenn noticed and he gently grabbed my hand.

"Everything's going to be okay." Glenn told me as he gave my hand a small squeeze. I sighed and then nodded as he led the way.

"I hope so." I replied as we stepped onto the highway and my breath caught in my throat at the sight in front of me.

Our vehicle had bullet holes in the side of it and the windows had been smashed. Blood covered the passenger seat window like a curtain had been draped across the window to stop people from peeking inside. My feet moved of their own accord towards my family's car and the air was deathly silent. As soon as I reached the passenger door, I took a deep breath and with the remaining courage that I had left, I forcefully pulled the door open.

The sight inside made me drop to my knees.

The reanimated corpses of my brother and mother lay inside the vehicle. A layer of blood covered my family members from the multiple stab wounds that were inflicted upon their small bodies. This time, I cannot hold back the scream that escaped from my lips which effectively portrayed the grief that had consumed my fragile form.

My grief soon turned to anger and the anger that flowed through my veins clouded my judgement and made me unaware of what I was doing. I grabbed my knife that Shane gave me earlier and I repeatedly slammed my knife into the skull of the walker which used to be my mother. I hit her again, and again, bashing her skull in until the bone split open and the brains spilled out across the passenger seat. The walker slumped over and just as I prepared to repeat the process to my dead brother, someone grabbed me from behind and I started to scream and thrash about like a wild animal. I felt something slam against my skull and I hit the floor with a painful thud. My vision was blurry as the man who was holding me, bent over and whispered one word in my ear which made me want to burst into uncontrollable tears.

"Sorry." The word repeated over and over in my head like a mantra as the faces of each of my family members swam across my line of sight until I finally blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

The peaceful sound of the fire crackling gently pulled me towards consciousness. I fought to return to sleep, though, wrapped in a warm cocoon of blankets, safe at home. I was vaguely aware that my head ached as my mother's hand gently stroked my cheek and then I heard a voice, the wrong voice, not my mother's, and I was scared.

"I'm sorry, Katherine." I heard a familiar voice say. Daryl. The sense of security vanished as I remembered that I wasn't at home, and that my family were dead. The unmistakable smell of blood tainted the air and I fought to keep the tears at bay.

I managed to keep my eyes shut and my breathing steady as if I was asleep. I heard a barely audible sigh and then Daryl placed a strong hand on my shoulder and gently nudged for me to wake up.

"Kat?" He said. "Katherine, wake up." My eyes slowly opened and I looked at Daryl, questioningly. I gingerly lifted my hand up to my head and found it bandaged. That simple gesture left me feeling weak and dizzy. Daryl held a bottle of water out for me to take and I gratefully accepted it.

"How long have I been out?" I asked him, between small sips.

"A few hours." He replied, and my eyes widened at his answer.

"A few hours?" I repeated in disbelief as the memories started to overwhelm me again. I felt a small tear trickle down my cheek and Daryl frowned when he noticed it.

"Why am I crying? I am so sick of crying." I said as I angrily wiped the tear away. I looked up at Daryl to see him watching me with a sad smile on his handsome features.

"I'm sorry bout' your parents... I know what it's like." Daryl admitted, looking extremely uncomfortable. "My mother died in a house fire when I was old enough to ride a bicycle. The fire was caused by her cigarette when she was asleep or possibly shit-faced drunk, I'm not sure." Daryl continued with a faraway look in his brown eyes. "On the other hand, my father was torn apart by the walkers. My half brother, Jess, had to put him out of his misery because I was too weak to do it."

The bitterness in Daryl's voice made my heart clench painfully as a horrific memory passed through my thoughts.

_I grabbed my knife that Shane gave me earlier and I repeatedly slammed my knife into the skull of the walker which used to be my mother. I hit her again, and again, bashing her skull in until the bone split open and the brains spilled out across the passenger seat._

"When you lose someone, it stays with you. Always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt." Daryl said quietly as he started to fiddle with his knife and I nodded, feeling numb from the effect that his words had on me.

"I'm sorry about your parent's deaths." I told Daryl as I gave him a weak smile.

"You've probably been through a hell of a lot worse that I did." Daryl admitted bitterly and his face hardened, "hell, my family was so broken, the only person that I knew for certain would never give up on me was Merle."

"Even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have. Good and bad. " I honestly replied and Daryl nodded, deep in thought.

"We buried your parents. I came to wake you up for the funeral." Daryl suddenly announced and I visibly tensed at his words. I reluctantly nodded and followed him to the spot where three graves had been dug. The group crowded around the graves to pay their respects, but the only thing that registered to me in my grief was the small grave built for a child. Chris. My heart tightly clenched and the tears streamed down my face as I stared down at the graves which belonged to the people that I was certain I loved the most in this nightmare. I heard the voices of the group members, but I couldn't hear what they were saying because of the voice which belonged to someone who was supposed to be dead. The voice of my brother spoke unemotionally in my thoughts.

_"You broke your promise. You promised that you would never leave me, but at the first chance that you got... You abandoned us. We died on that highway because of you."_ My brother's voice taunted me as a mixture of emotions viciously attacked my senses. Grief. Depression. Regret.

I sobbed in misery as the emotions started to control my actions and I dropped to my knees as the sobs wracked my body, painfully. I felt someone place a comforting hand on my shoulder and the old man kneeled down next to me with a worried look in his blue eyes.

"Katherine, you need to calm down." The old man started to say, but I disrupted him as I let out a violent sob. I gasped for air as my pained cries started to intensify and the sounds of pure grief filled the otherwise silent atmosphere.

"No! I can't... I can't... I can't... It's hurts. Just make it stop. Please, make it stop! It hurts." I wail sorrowfully, "Every time I let it sink in that I'm never going to see them again, I feel like I'm going to die."

To me at that moment, it felt like the whole world had ended as I let out another pained cry. I felt exposed and vulnerable by expressing my emotions in front of the group, but I couldn't control the way that I was reacting. I was crying so hard I could barely breathe.

A couple of agonising minutes passed as I clung to the old man for comfort. I was in a state of complete shock, unable to take in the fact that I would never see the smiling faces of my family members ever again.

"The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them." Dale said quietly and I stared up at him as the tears continued to stream down my face. "We all at certain times in our lives find ourselves broken. True strength is found in picking up the pieces."

I know that nothing that this group does will fix the hole left in my heart by the death of my entire family, but the only thing that I can do is try to "pick up the pieces" of my shattered life and start again.


End file.
